CBI Court Sentences Pharma Firm Partner to Two Years in Prison for Forgery and Cheating Under NRHM Scheme.
Ghaziabad:
In a significant judgment aimed at cracking down on corruption in public health schemes, the Special CBI Court in Ghaziabad on Tuesday sentenced Gangaram, a partner of M/s Pankaj Pharma, Lucknow, to two years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 5 lakh. The sentencing comes in connection with a forgery and cheating case related to the implementation of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) Scheme.
The case was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 11, 2013, against Gangaram and others for irregularities committed during the execution of the NRHM scheme in the period between 2005 and 2011.
During the course of investigation, it was found that in the financial year 2008–09, the accused fraudulently procured seven official indents that were originally intended only for government-authorized pharmaceutical suppliers. Acting in connivance with the then Pharmacist Late J.P. Srivastava, Gangaram submitted seven forged authorization letters, falsely presenting M/s Pankaj Pharma as an approved dealer. Using these fabricated documents, he illegally supplied medicines to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) office in Balrampur and subsequently received a payment of Rs. 5,00,847 from public funds.
The CBI investigation further revealed that the authorization letters submitted were entirely forged, and the actual firms holding rate contracts had not supplied the medicines. While the delivery of medicines was confirmed, the fraudulent impersonation and use of forged documents led to misappropriation of government funds, thus constituting a serious offense of cheating and forgery.
The CBI filed its chargesheet against Gangaram on June 30, 2015. After nearly a decade of legal proceedings, the court has now found the accused guilty of the charges and handed down the sentence.
The verdict underscores the judiciary’s firm stance on fraudulent activities involving public welfare schemes and reiterates the CBI’s continued efforts to ensure accountability and transparency in government-funded programs, especially those in the healthcare sector.
